Dog of war visits King school

Maggie Gordon, Stamford Advocate

Maggie Gordon, Staff Writer

Updated 9:47 pm, Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to students at King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, CT on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Oso was rescued through the Baghdad Pups program, which helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone.

Photo: Shelley Cryan

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to...

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to students at King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, CT on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Oso was rescued through the Baghdad Pups program, which helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone.
Photo: Shelley Cryan

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to...

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to students at King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, CT on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Oso was rescued through the Baghdad Pups program, which helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone.
Photo: Shelley Cryan

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to...

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to students at King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, CT on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Oso was rescued through the Baghdad Pups program, which helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone.
Photo: Shelley Cryan

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to...

Captain Steve Johnston, New Fairfield, introduces Oso the dog to students at King Low Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, CT on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Oso was rescued through the Baghdad Pups program, which helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone.
Photo: Shelley Cryan

STAMFORD -- Special Agent Steven Johnston is a firm believer in the motto "no buddy left behind." So much so, that when he left Baghdad at the end of a yearlong tour in Iraq, he made sure the puppy he befriended there made his way to the United States for a safe new life.

"I was stationed in Iraq for a little over a year, and we met in Baghdad. He was a little tiny thing," Johnston said of Oso, the red-and-white dog sitting at his feet Wednesday morning at King Low Heywood Thomas School. Johnston, 43, of New Fairfield, is a special agent for the Diplomatic Security Service.

"So we became very close. I actually rescued four of them out there. I adopted the other three out and kept him for myself," he said.

Johnston was able to bring the pup -- who he thinks may be part collie -- to the states through Operation Baghdad Pups, a program run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International that helps U.S. troops safely transport the animals they befriended in war zones. The SPCA receives three to six requests each week from soldiers in the Middle East and their families to ship dogs home.

Oso earned his names when American soldiers decided he and fellow pups were "Oh so cute," said Johnston's wife Penny.

"We went through a lot together. He had some real close calls out there, and like I said, I couldn't leave him behind," Johnston said as he prepared to introduce Oso to a group of students at King as part of a Veterans Day program for the students.

"It's sad," he told the students. "They don't really like or appreciate dogs like we do."

Had he left Oso behind, there was a good chance the dog would be killed, he said. But after living through bombings and other attacks with each other, Johnston couldn't fathom leaving the four-legged ally behind. So he worked with SPCA to bring Oso back home. After about six months of planning and negotiations, the pup arrived on Memorial Day in 2010.

"When I picked him up, I was worried because he'd never lived with children or lived in a house," said his wife, Penny Johnston. "And when I brought him to meet the kids, I was so worried, but he went up on his hind legs and he kissed my son on the nose, and I knew it would be OK."

Now, he's a member of the family, who will keep Penny and her children company when Steve leaves for yet another tour in Europe on Thursday.

"We just love him," Penny said.

Staff writer Maggie Gordon can be reached at maggie.gordon@scni.com or 203-964-2229.